(A) Authority: For the purposes of promoting the public health, safety, morals, comfort and general welfare, conserving the values of property throughout the village, and lessening or avoiding congestion in the public roads and highways, the president and the board of trustees of the village may, from time to time, in the manner hereinafter set forth, amend the regulations imposed and the districts created by this title; provided, that in all amendatory ordinances adopted under the authority of this section, due allowance shall be made for existing conditions, the conservation of property values, the directions of building development to the best advantage of the entire Village, and the uses to which property is devoted at the time of the effective date hereof. (Ord. 63-1, 4-1-63)
(B) Initiation of Amendment: Amendments may be proposed by a Trustee, the Zoning Board of Appeals, the Enforcing Officer or by any person owning or having an interest in the subject property. (Ord. 77-1 7, 9-26-77)
(C) Application for Amendment: An application for an amendment shall be filed with the Enforcing Officer, in such form and accompanied by such information as required by the Zoning Board of Appeals.
(D) Hearing on Application: The Zoning Board of Appeals shall hold a public hearing on each application for an amendment at such time and place within the Village as shall be established by the Zoning Board of Appeals. The hearing shall be conducted and a record of such proceedings shall be preserved in such manner as the Zoning Board of Appeals shall, by rule, prescribe from time to time. (Ord. 63-1, 4-1-63)
(E) Notice of Public Hearing:
1. Notice of the time and place of such hearing shall be published in a newspaper of general circulation in the Village not more than thirty (30) nor less than fifteen (15) days before such hearing. Supplemental or additional notices may be published or distributed as the Zoning Board of appeals may, by rule, prescribe from time to time. (Ord. 63-1, 4-1-63; amd. 1977 Code)
2. Where the amendment is initiated by a Trustee, the Zoning Board of Appeals, or the Enforcing Officer, and proposes a change of district classification of a particular property, a true copy of the application or of the Board's order shall be served upon the owner or owners of record in person or by certified United States mail within ten (10) days after the filing of the application or the entry of the Board order initiating the proceeding. Where the application is filed by a person having an interest in the subject property, a notice and copy of the application shall be served in like manner upon each of the other co-owners or those having an interest. The foregoing notice and service requirements shall be in addition to the publishing requirements of this subsection. (Ord. 63-1, 4-1-63; amd. Ord. 77-17, 9-26-77)
(F) Findings of Fact and Recommendations of the Zoning Board of Appeals: Within a reasonable time after the close of the hearing on a proposed amendment, the Zoning Board of Appeals shall make written findings of fact and shall submit same together with its recommendation to the Board of Trustees of the Village. Where the purpose and effect of the proposed amendment is to change the zoning classification of particular property, the Zoning Board of Appeals shall make findings based upon the evidence presented to it in each specific case with respect to the following matters:
1. Existing uses of property within the general area of the property in question.
2. The zoning classification of property within the general area of the property in question.
3. The suitability of the property in question for the uses permitted under the existing zoning classification.
4. The trend of development, if any, in the general area of the property in question, including changes, if any, which may have taken place since the day the property in question was placed in its present zoning classification.
The Zoning Board of Appeals shall not recommend the adoption of a proposed amendment unless it finds that the adoption of such an amendment is in the public interest and is not solely for the interest of the applicant. The Zoning Board of Appeals may recommend the adoption of an amendment changing the zoning classification of the property in question to any higher classification than that requested by the applicant. For the purpose of this paragraph the R1 District shall be considered the highest classification and the Light Industrial District shall be considered the lowest classification.
(G) Action by the Board of Trustees:
1. The Board of Trustees of the Village shall not act upon a proposed amendment to this Title until it shall have received a written report and recommendation from the Zoning Board of Appeals on the proposed amendment.
2. In cases where the Zoning Board of Appeals recommends that a proposed amendment not be adopted or in case of written protest against any proposed amendment signed and acknowledged by the owners of twenty percent (20%) of the property proposed to be altered or by the owners of twenty percent (20%) of the property adjacent to the property proposed to be altered, and filed with the Clerk of the Village, such amendment shall not be passed except by the favorable vote of two-thirds (2/3) of all members of the Board of Trustees.
3. If an application for a proposed amendment is not acted upon finally by the Board of Trustees of the Village within sixty (60) days of the time of receipt of the Zoning Board of Appeals' recommendations, it shall be deemed to have been denied.
(H) Minimum Size of Parcel: A lot, lots or parcel of land shall not qualify for a zoning amendment unless it possesses a minimum of one hundred fifty feet (150') of frontage and contains a minimum of forty thousand (40,000) square feet of area, or adjoins a lot, lots or parcel of land which bears the same zoning district classification as the proposed zoning amendment.